A gun shop in Prague showing a typical selection of locally most popular types of firearmsTotal number of gun license holders and registered firearms in the Czech Republic since the fall of communism[1][2][3]
Gun laws in the Czech Republic in many respects differ from those in other European Union member states (see Gun laws in the European Union). The "right to acquire, keep and bear firearms" is explicitly recognized in the first Article of the Firearms Act. At the constitutional level, the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms includes the "right to defend one's own life or life of another person also with arms under conditions stipulated by law".
In the Czech Republic, firearms are available to anyone, subject to acquiring a firearms license. Firearm licenses may be obtained in a way similar to a driving license; by passing a proficiency exam, medical examination and having no criminal record. Unlike in most other European countries, Czech firearms legislation also permits citizens to carry concealed weapons for self-defense; 260,027 out of 316,859 gun license holders have a concealed carry license (31 December 2023).[4] The most common reason for firearm possession by Czech gun owners is for protection, with hunting and sport shooting being less common.[5] Additionally, people can join government endorsed advanced shooting training courses with their privately owned firearms and become a civilian reservist.[6]
The beginnings of Czech civilian firearms possession dates back to 1421, with the first use of firearms as the primary weapons of Hussite militia (see History of Czech civilian firearms possession). Firearms became indispensable tools for the mostly-commoner militia in a war for religious freedom and political independence. Firearms possession became common throughout and after the Hussite wars. The universal right to keep arms for "all people of all standing" was formally affirmed in the 1517 Wenceslaus Agreement. Throughout its 600-year history, Czech firearms legislation remained permissive, with the exception of the periods of German Nazi occupation and of the Communist regime.
The English term pistol originated in 15th-century Czech language.[7]Mariánská skála in Ústí nad Labem is Europe's oldest continually-open shooting range, established in 1617.[8][9]
^Šimek, Jiří (18 December 2012). "Statistika držitelů zbrojních průkazů a počtu registrovaných zbraní 1990-2010" (in Czech). Gunlex. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
^Cite error: The named reference gunlex-stats was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"V ČR loni mělo zbrojní průkaz 292.000 lidí, jejich počet klesl" (in Czech). ČTK. Archived from the original on 7 February 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
^Gawron, Tomáš (8 January 2024). "Zbraňové statistiky 2023: Růst počtu držitelů zbrojních průkazů zpomalil, setrvalý nárůst registrovaných zbraní [Firearms statistics 2023: Increase of number of license holders slowed down, gradual increase of registered firearms]". zbrojnice.com (in Czech). Retrieved 8 January 2024.
^Eurobarometer, Directorate General for Communication (2013), Flash Barometer 383: Firearms in the European Union – Report(PDF), Brusselss, archived (PDF) from the original on 21 March 2017, retrieved 26 March 2017{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^"Ozbrojení civilisté a budoucí bezpečnostní krize".
^Titz, Karel (1922). Ohlasy husitského válečnictví v Evropě. Československý vědecký ústav vojenský.
^Kindlová, Veronika (2015), Nejstarší střelnici v Evropě najdete na Mariánské skále v Ústí nad Labem, archived from the original on 1 October 2017, retrieved 1 October 2017
^Rudoplh, Richard L. (2008). Banking and Industrialization in Austria-Hungary: The Role of Banks in the Industrialization of the Czech Crownlands, 1873–1914. Cambridge University Press. p. 39. ISBN 978-0-521-08847-3. Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
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